Brain

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A provocative new study from researchers at UC San Francisco shows that playing a specially designed video game increased the ability to multitask for people in their 60s, 70s and 80s.

Adam Gazzaley of UCSF’s Neuroscience Imaging Center led the study. He recruited 174 people over 60 to play NeuroRacer, a custom-built game that forced participants to navigate winding roads, quickly turn left and right, go uphill and downhill — and then click a button whenever a distracting green sign pops up. Take a look:

The participants played the video game three times a week for a month and improved cognitive functions of the brain, not only in multitasking but also in paying attention for longer time spans. In fact, they improved so much that they reached the level of an untrained 20-year-old. This is the first time this kind of improvement has been demonstrated, the researchers noted in their study.

Gazzaley explained more on KQED’s “Forum” recently. He said the idea is to identify the brain’s “plasticity,” meaning its ability to change even as it ages — a concept that brain researchers haven’t always thought possible. Continue reading →